Will Clint Frazier or Aaron Judge Be Yankees' Biggest Breakout Rookie Star?

You notice Aaron Judge right away, because he's 6'7" and built like few baseball players you've ever seen. He's not just big. He's huge.

He looks like Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, MLB.com said. A power forward in the outfield.

You can't miss Clint Frazier, either, because of the flaming red hair and the mouth that won't stop.

"I talk a big game," Frazier admitted to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. "I better back it up soon."

The New York Yankees are about to begin a spring training focused more on youthful talent than on big-money stars. Alex Rodriguez is gone (at least as an active player), and while the Yankees are still spending tons of money, their fans understand the excitement will come from the kids making the major league minimum.

They saw it late last year with Gary Sanchez, the young catcher who hit home run after home run and quickly became the one guy who could bring a buzz back to Yankee Stadium. There was some excitement the year before, too, with Greg Bird and Luis Severino.

Those guys are still around and need to prove the early talk was justified. But there's room for more, and a need for a lot more if this Yankees rebuilding project is going to work.

And right there on the horizon, with a chance to make this year their own, stand Judge and Frazier.

Other teams have great prospects, too, with some ranked higher than Judge and Frazier on the lists compiled by MLB.com and ESPN.com. But the focus here is on the two Yankees kids, and the question is which one has the better chance to follow Sanchez as the guy whose presence lights up the Bronx.

"Judge early, Frazier late," predicted one American League scout who has seen plenty of both of them. "They'll [eventually] like Frazier slightly better."

There's no guarantee either one will make it, not this year or ever. Prospects don't come with guarantees.

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For all their talent, Judge and Frazier both swing and miss an awful lot. Judge struck out in 44.2 percent of his plate appearances in a 2016 late-season cameo. The only players in the major leagues who struck out at a higher rate were pitchers.

"I have a lot of concerns about Judge," said another scout, who works for a National League team. "I think Frazier will be their right fielder before the year is out."

And yet, if you look at their overall minor league numbers, Frazier has actually struck out more often (25.4 percent of at-bats) than Judge (24.7 percent).

The difference is that Frazier's numbers are trending better (23.5 percent last year), and he's younger (Frazier will play next season at 22, while Judge turns 25 in April). Scouts also rave about Frazier's bat speed, suggesting it will make him a better hitter.

Because of his age and experience, Judge will almost certainly get the first chance. The Yankees have one outfield spot open, with Brett Gardner set in left field and Jacoby Ellsbury set in center. They haven't handed the job to Judge—Aaron Hicks will also get a spring training look—but it seems clear they'd like Judge to take it.

They'd like to get a look at the power he has shown off only in spurts so far. He homered nine times in 28 Triple-A games last June, and homered in each of his first two major league games in August.

The power is real, but he needs to prove he can make more consistent contact for it to pay off.

Because he'll get the first opportunity and because the power could excite, Judge is the safer bet to be the Yankees' 2017 rookie star.

But Frazier is the better choice because of that bat speed and his personality, which is perfect for a New York star.

He'll need to show improvement, too. He admitted to Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News he was "humbled" by his struggles at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, after the Yankees acquired him from the Cleveland Indians in a midseason trade for Andrew Miller. He admitted to reporters, including Mazzeo, that he worried too much about matching what Miller was doing for the Indians.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

He put pressure on himself with the comparisons, and he put pressure on himself with his brash talk.

"I play like my hair is on fire," he told Kernan. "It's fiery, like my personality. It's big hair, and I try to make my personality big. I think it represents me because it's different, I'm different, it's unique to who I am. It makes me one of a kind."

It could make him the biggest kind of New York star, but only if he succeeds on the field.

Sanchez didn't talk his way into Yankees fans' hearts. The young catcher from the Dominican Republic says very little, but fans don't care as long as he plays the way he did last August and September.

Judge tends more toward the quiet side, but he handled his 2016 struggles well. His history in the minor leagues suggests he gets better as he gets more comfortable, and there's a chance some of those 2016 strikeouts could turn into 2017 home runs.

There's a chance he'll break out early, make the 2017 season his own and settle into right field while keeping Frazier blocked in Triple-A. But if Frazier proves he's ready, the Yankees will likely find a way to make room for him.

They're committed to finding out about these kids, committed to letting them try to generate the excitement Sanchez did a year ago.

Judge could do that early. Frazier could do it late.

And if I have to pick one of them to be the breakout star of 2017, I'll take Frazier.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

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